QLD - Whitsunday Islands - Cruising and Fishing
From Todd at todd66lee@yahoo.com
i am finally back at "work"
following a great tour of the whitsunday passage - what an awesome part
of the world we have in our backyard . lee & i spent 10 days adrift on
the high seas always on the lookout for swashbuckling pirates,man
eating sharks and giant squid .
our vessel, NISKA 4, a 42 ' sail boat handled everything the
wild ocean could muster up. with peter as our brave skipper and
kathleen as the ship's concubine we were in terrific hands
we visited many islands such as hook , hamilton , south
molle , hayman , whitehaven and lazed in many of their secluded coves.
a "standard" day included a fish off the back of the boat for brekkie
, a snorkel over the incredibly vibrant and active reefs , a swim to
white sandy beaches and an afternoon siesta . this left plenty of
energy to sip stiff tequila margaritas and enjoy the bountiful feast
from the ocean. life on a yacht sure is GOOD..
the activity in the blue blue seas is phenomenal..
dolphins in the wake of the ship whales breaching as you eat your
cornflakes reef sharks stealing you catch from you in the shallows as
you spearfish handfeeding a moray eel with fish guts up on dry land
snorkelling face first into an 8 foot wide manta ray as you swim over a
reef drop off really makes you know you are alive
living in a confined space is testing....we adapted pretty
well a really good headbut makes you automatically duck for the rest of
your time aboard!!!!!!!!!!! the beer was always cold and we deadset ate
like we had bernard king in the galley brewing up all types of culinary delights..
following many days at sea we would stop into an
island and taste the delicacies it had to offer a hot shower swaying
stable land people food with table service (not as good as the food on
board our trusty vessel) tap beer
whitehaven beach.... the whitest sand of any beach in the
world.. we spent a few days here mesmerised by the talc like sand and
the aqua water it does not seem real????? this is one place we will
never forget
setting sail with the breeze in your face and the sun
shining down is a classic way to get around.. travelling over cobalt
waters with the only ripple being from the wake of our boat...
a trip out to the barrier reef was awesome the reef
lies about 100 km from the mainland . we caught a high speed ferry for
a day of submarinal activity the reef is teaming with life schools of
thousands of small tropical fish giant trevally GIANT maori
wrasse......8 foot long parrot fish a submarine ride was a different
outlook as well
a stop at airlie beach as lee had to come back home.. a
great town which is the base for all trips out to the reef and the
islands... it has great food and good cold beer VIC HISLOP'S shark show
is there... he has an 18 FOOT GREAT WHITE ON ICE FOR ALL TO SEE it is
about 12 foot wide which is even scarier
with all this knowledge on board ,pete (raphael)and i
returned to battle the harsh elements of the unforgiving seas. we were
hearty old salts of the sea ready to pillage and plunder any land or
any vessel that stood in our way....
perfect weather was the ingredient that made the
entire trip a success 25 degrees(80 if you are a seppo) the water was
almost the same
alas a journey must come to an end for a couple of old
sea dogs such as us... life on the high seas is an adventure EVERYDAY
as DEAN MARTIN says......"HEY BROTHER ...POUR THE WINE ......" untill
the next adventure......yeeeehhhhaaaaaaaa!!!!
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